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Tuesday, 2 July 2013

Is it possible to live without an obsession
with institutionalized American desserts? Think about it. What the hell was you
craving before you first caught your tongue on that first bite of red velvet
layer cake?Don’t even get me started on
pie. All pie. Pumpkin. Pecan. Apple. Bar pork, but that’s not even from the
states and who likes jellied meat encased in hot water crust pastry anyway?

I’m not an American. But as I discover edible
American staples, I wonder why I haven’t packed my bags and jetted off to
Boston to formerly beg Joanne Chang for that job at Flour.

Pecan Sandies are an old American tradition
that lives on to this day, piled high in most American supermarkets. They are
shortbread-like biscuits with crunchy chopped pecans added to the mix, and then
heavily dusted with sugar before and
after baking. You really can’t go wrong. I don’t know when
sandies came about, or what maid accidently fell onto a cake pan and flattened
it out to reveal a cookie pan and suddenly someone in the 1800’s invented the
pecan sandie.

I wanted to take this oil-based biscuit and
make a strictly ‘no pecan’ meal out of it (change is good), sooooo seeing as I (women)
cant live without chocolate, I threw in an overflowing handful of it for good
measure. Shortbread and chocolate have always worked well together and as my
sandies are not bearing pecans, it goes without saying that the
almond/chocolate/buttery biscuit combo is indescribable.

On a slightly more boring slash kinda important note: Some of you might be aware of Google’s latest assassination. Google Reader has been shoved through the
front, back and side door. I have been using Feedly and Bloglovin’ to stay up
to date with the latest in the blogosphere. If you want to keep reading mbakes,
you can easily subscribe via Email, Feedly (subscribe by clicking Add Content in top left hand corner) or Bloglovin’. I am also on
Facebook, Twitter and Pintrest! So there really is no getting away from me.

The Method
In a mixer, beat together sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add the sunflower oil and beat until foamy, about 4 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla until incorporated.

Sift in the flour, baking soda, salt and cream of tarter and beat on low until a dough forms. Add sliced almonds and chocolate and mix through with a spatula.

Wrap tightly in cling film and refrigerate for half an hour, or over night.

Preheat the oven to 170 C and line 2 baking trays with baking parchment.

Roll 20 walnut sized balls and place on baking trays, the cookies will not spread so do not worry about spacing them too far apart. Sprinkle a load of caster sugar over each ball.

Take 2 to 3 sliced almonds and press them into each ball to flatten the cookie slightly. Sprinkle with more sugar.

Bake for 12 minutes, until the cookies have only slightly browned and are still largely pale. Leave to cool completely on the baking trays to continue the baking process without browning the biscuits. Biscuits will keep for 3 days in an airtight container.

7
comments:

I'm sure these'll help you get over the finish line! I've never heard of a sandie before but they look reaaally good indeed, wonderful photographs. I like the red and white paper bags especially, they remind me of the sweet shop (:from Em x

These look so good, I actually like the sound of chocolate and almond sandies more than pecan. Love that they're entirely coated in sugar too. Hope they give you a sufficient sugar boost for the race on Sunday!

I can totally relate on the obsession with American Desserts. Cheery pie? All the pies?? Cookies, sundaes, layer cakes, donuts? Those 'muricans really have the market cornered. Pass me a sandie, will you?